It's like laws that make it illegal to not report a crime. We've recently had one pass for child abuse.
If you're sufficiently psychopathic to not report child abuse when you see it, the legality of that decision going to change your behaviour?
The only effect this law has is when the time comes to investigate the death, every family member, neighbour, and other person associated with the child says "I had no idea anything was wrong. I never saw bruises. I never saw the mother hit her child." And no one has any idea how the child died or who is responsible.
However, it is good for getting politicians positive press and appeases the "they should be doing something" crowd, so it's not totally pointless I suppose.
I agree with your overall point, but a large portion of those users are Asia based, and they pay per hour rather than a monthly fee. Also, paying 6 monthly drops the price to about $12 or so.
I flew through Vancouver instead of LA. It was slightly more expensive, but I got to avoid travelling through America. Good news for Canada's economy at least...
I've seen the same thing happen to a friend who now works intelligence for the police. Some of the right-wing rhetoric that comes out of her mouth is disgusting. I've known her for 10+ years, and it's quite depressing seeing the change.
I guess working with the scum of society changes your perspective of such issues.
I know of a Chilean athlete who was put in a Miami jail for three days because he wouldn't walk on the footpath when told to by a policeman.
Admittedly, he's an ass, and it was unfortunate that he hadn't learnt to fear American police so he didn't just comply with what the officer told him to do.
Even more unfortunately for him he looks Cuban, talks with a South American accent, and he didn't have his passport on him. He was detained as a suspected illegal immigrant and cost himself a few thousand dollars of legal fees. All it would have taken to identify him was googling his name, and the first 5+ pages on google are about him.
This is how the world sees America and it can only get worse with these sorts of immigration laws.
I don't enter into discussions with people who claim the tooth-fairy is real either though. It's nothing personal!
Honestly, I suspect most atheists have tried, and have long since given up debating. This is the result when every argument can be countered with 'god made it that way'. It's impossible to prove that wrong, so what's the point in debating?
Although I suppose I am debating at the moment. Argh! You win!
I'm always amused when people classify Geothermal as 'renewable' as it most certainly isn't. I suppose everything isn't on a sufficiently long time scale but I personally wouldn't class a few decades as long enough to deserve that moniker.
It also emits CO2 while operating although in lower quantities than an equivalent coal plant: 5-10%ish IIRC although heavily site dependent.
You're not getting 90% efficiency from burning fossil fuels. Modern day CCGTs can just break 60%.
Unless your argument is that all waste heat is used to heat something that would have been resistively heated anyway. In which case you may as well burn your fuel at site and claim 100% efficiency, I guess. It makes as much sense.
since their own country is the best it's laws are the best and since it's laws are the best they should apply to everyone, everywhere, always and it's only a matter of if you can get hold of people to punish them
However, I find that these sorts of people pick and choose which of their laws actually 'count' when it comes to themselves.
I find it hard to believe that you're not just trolling. But on the off chance that you're not...
My company uses Skype to conference call with overseas clients. It's nothing to do with the avoided cost of a 'real' phone call (which is insignificant compared to consultant time) and everything to do with universal availability, video conference ability and ease of use making it a better option than a 'real' phone call.
I agree - $8.1b is a drop in the bucket. It's just the most visible and easily attributable of many many costs of the 'war' on terror. I came up with annual figure of $32b in lost productivity if people waste half an hour getting through security every flight. Then there's the elephants of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.
American's don't have to worry about terrorists "seriously damaging our economy". They've done a great job of that themselves.
BTW, when you've got more chance of getting cancer from the scanners than you do of being a victim of a terrorist attack they're more than just stupid.
People are willing to evacuate cities based upon the predictions of this guy: "He is co-author of Pawmistry: How to Read Your Cat's Paws, which teaches ways to read a cat's mood and "explores the psychic influences that numerology and the zodiac have on your cat"."
Hopefully a scientifically backed prediction would have at least as much effect.
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It's like laws that make it illegal to not report a crime. We've recently had one pass for child abuse.
If you're sufficiently psychopathic to not report child abuse when you see it, the legality of that decision going to change your behaviour?
The only effect this law has is when the time comes to investigate the death, every family member, neighbour, and other person associated with the child says "I had no idea anything was wrong. I never saw bruises. I never saw the mother hit her child." And no one has any idea how the child died or who is responsible.
However, it is good for getting politicians positive press and appeases the "they should be doing something" crowd, so it's not totally pointless I suppose.
Probably it's because the people who made it unlawful to kill the pricks at the top are the pricks at the top.
Our password needs to be changed every 2 months. I'm up to 'S'. Hopefully it doesn't remember more than 26 previous passwords.
I'm not saying every drug user is going to become a criminal
I have some bad news for you...
I agree with your overall point, but a large portion of those users are Asia based, and they pay per hour rather than a monthly fee. Also, paying 6 monthly drops the price to about $12 or so.
I flew through Vancouver instead of LA. It was slightly more expensive, but I got to avoid travelling through America. Good news for Canada's economy at least...
I've seen the same thing happen to a friend who now works intelligence for the police. Some of the right-wing rhetoric that comes out of her mouth is disgusting. I've known her for 10+ years, and it's quite depressing seeing the change.
I guess working with the scum of society changes your perspective of such issues.
they may join society again at some point into the future.
Heh, unlikely. Once someone has been to jail their opportunities to be a productive member of society are pretty much non-existent.
I know of a Chilean athlete who was put in a Miami jail for three days because he wouldn't walk on the footpath when told to by a policeman.
Admittedly, he's an ass, and it was unfortunate that he hadn't learnt to fear American police so he didn't just comply with what the officer told him to do.
Even more unfortunately for him he looks Cuban, talks with a South American accent, and he didn't have his passport on him. He was detained as a suspected illegal immigrant and cost himself a few thousand dollars of legal fees. All it would have taken to identify him was googling his name, and the first 5+ pages on google are about him.
This is how the world sees America and it can only get worse with these sorts of immigration laws.
Isn't the counterbalance to this that a 'Prime Minister' has much less actual power than a 'President'? The titles themselves give it away.
At least, I heard that somewhere, and our own 'Prime Minister' has been criticized for forgetting that he's not a 'President'.
I 'cashed out' of wow a few months ago and got a nice gfx card for my gold from a guild member. Works as a currency for me.
a lack of any willingness to debate.
I don't enter into discussions with people who claim the tooth-fairy is real either though. It's nothing personal!
Honestly, I suspect most atheists have tried, and have long since given up debating. This is the result when every argument can be countered with 'god made it that way'. It's impossible to prove that wrong, so what's the point in debating?
Although I suppose I am debating at the moment. Argh! You win!
Yeah those stupid people being people... Millions of years of evolution are pretty powerful.
Much like the abstinence movement in America, telling people to not have sex doesn't work.
You might want to have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_present_value/ too.
$20k now is worth a lot more than $20k in a few years' time
I would have missed a pretty big chunk of it if she had committed suicide while she was still lucid.
That's a very selfish statement.
On your point A - Surely you'd be buying another house, so you're selling and buying in the same market.
I'm always amused when people classify Geothermal as 'renewable' as it most certainly isn't. I suppose everything isn't on a sufficiently long time scale but I personally wouldn't class a few decades as long enough to deserve that moniker.
It also emits CO2 while operating although in lower quantities than an equivalent coal plant: 5-10%ish IIRC although heavily site dependent.
You're not getting 90% efficiency from burning fossil fuels. Modern day CCGTs can just break 60%.
Unless your argument is that all waste heat is used to heat something that would have been resistively heated anyway. In which case you may as well burn your fuel at site and claim 100% efficiency, I guess. It makes as much sense.
Maybe I'm missing something from your argument?
since their own country is the best it's laws are the best and since it's laws are the best they should apply to everyone, everywhere, always and it's only a matter of if you can get hold of people to punish them
However, I find that these sorts of people pick and choose which of their laws actually 'count' when it comes to themselves.
I find it hard to believe that you're not just trolling. But on the off chance that you're not...
My company uses Skype to conference call with overseas clients. It's nothing to do with the avoided cost of a 'real' phone call (which is insignificant compared to consultant time) and everything to do with universal availability, video conference ability and ease of use making it a better option than a 'real' phone call.
I agree - $8.1b is a drop in the bucket. It's just the most visible and easily attributable of many many costs of the 'war' on terror. I came up with annual figure of $32b in lost productivity if people waste half an hour getting through security every flight. Then there's the elephants of the Iraq and Afghanistan war.
American's don't have to worry about terrorists "seriously damaging our economy". They've done a great job of that themselves.
BTW, when you've got more chance of getting cancer from the scanners than you do of being a victim of a terrorist attack they're more than just stupid.
schemes that could seriously damage our economy
2011 Budget for TSA: $8.1b
Not to mention the millions of lost hours due to security theatre.
No, death is death. "the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism."
Misusing words doesn't add anything to your argument, although it is popular these days. See: "Rape".
If nuclear power plants aren't economical at the moment they're going to be much, much worse if they're only allowed to generate power at night.
Solve the battery problem, then everything else falls into place.
something as vaporous as 'there might be an earthquake in the next few days' isn't going to change routines
Please tell me you're kidding.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread701933/pg1
http://www.cnkeyword.info/taiwan-14-earthquake-predicted-wave-triggered-evacuation-helicopter-apron-shift/
http://gardencityquake.blogspot.com/2011/03/false-earthquake-prediction-sparks.html
People are willing to evacuate cities based upon the predictions of this guy: "He is co-author of Pawmistry: How to Read Your Cat's Paws, which teaches ways to read a cat's mood and "explores the psychic influences that numerology and the zodiac have on your cat"."
Hopefully a scientifically backed prediction would have at least as much effect.